Story - Let's Give the Rich & Powerful Their Own NCAA Division

[huskymedic]

Chronicle of Higher Education Commentary:

http://chronicle.com/article/Lets-Give-the-Rich-and/139833/

>>"This new division—let's call it Super Division I (SDI)—would remain under the jurisdiction and regulatory oversight of the association while abiding by its mission "to be an integral part of higher education and to focus on the development of our student-athletes." Let's assume that membership is restricted to institutions in the Power 6 conferences (Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big East, Big 10, Pac-12, and Southeastern). SDI would necessitate the formation of its own leadership council, which would include current and former college athletes and would deal with the needs of member institutions while ensuring their integrity, competitive balance, and compliance with rules."<<

 

[Whale22]

"Let's assume that membership is restricted to institutions in the Power 6 conferences (Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big East, Big 10, Pac-12, and Southeastern). "

"Warren K. Zola is assistant dean for graduate programs in the Carroll School of Management at Boston College."

Just another attempt by BC to keep us down.

 

[freescooter]

One might guess that this was written sometime back and refers to the old big East, not the current Medium sized East.

I have a different view. You're either all in or all out. We don't much care which. But I would oppose any scheme that lets schools skirt the rules for football while still competing in the NCAA tourney in basketball or hockey or baseball orsoccer. The Big 4 or 5 or 6 want to set up their own tournies in other sports, they should feel free to do so. And good luck and god speed.
As for the NCAA I get that they are incompetent and frustrating in dealing with enforcement. Some schools get higher and better scrutiny than others. I'd suggest that they stop trying to micro manage everything, forget about the woman golfer who used the school's hose to wash her car. Get rid of the lawyers specializing in NCAA violations. Get rid of the rule book and start over as follows:

• Establish some basic principals and some clear, concise rules implementing those principals. Forget about trying to manage every conceivable issue.
• The go from the perspective that if a school is found to be in violation it is assumed to be guilty until proven otherwise, but this is a private association, not the federal courts.
• Set up an appeal procedure that is more like the NFL replay rule...incontrovertable evidence. But the appeals ought to be overturned very infrequently.
• Establish clear standards for penalties for violators. Illegal payments to players is an automatic post season ban. Illegal payment to players for the second time in a given period, post season ban and limit to 5 home games/year in football, 12 in basketball, and other sports reduce to reflect the relative percentage of that sport. 3 times in a given period, lose the season. Penalties should be immediate or as close to immediate as possible.
• On the academic side, require players to have the same SAT/ACT/high school transcripts as a typical student at the respective university. Most schools report a 25%-75% range for everything. All players should also fall in that range. The fundamental principal is that if you wouldn't take him as a regular student, you can't take him as an athlete.
• All scholarships should be for 4 years, but can be revoked for academic or behavioral issues, not because you recruited over a kid. If a player flunks out or is kicked out of school for some behavioral issues, the scholarship would be available to re-issue the next year. If a player leaves for athletic issues, to turn pro, or because of playing time, that scholarship would not become available again until the player's class has graduated. Players who simply decide to give up the sport would be reviewed on a case by case basis. I'd allow a 5th year to athletes who need an extra year or an extra semester to complete their degree which would not count against any team limit.